Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday after Northland Securities raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. Northland Securities currently has a market perform rating on the stock. 102,936 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session's volume of 94,729 shares.The stock last traded at $50.77 and had previously closed at $47.05.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Northland Capmk lowered Northwest Pipe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Northwest Pipe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northwest Pipe has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Megan A. Kendrick sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $44,220.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,039.50. This represents a 9.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northwest Pipe

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWPX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Northwest Pipe by 4.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 53,509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Northwest Pipe by 26.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 125,821 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 26,532 shares in the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northwest Pipe in the second quarter worth approximately $743,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Northwest Pipe during the 3rd quarter worth $165,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Northwest Pipe in the third quarter worth $417,000. Institutional investors own 80.63% of the company's stock.

Northwest Pipe Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $484.54 million, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Northwest Pipe Company Profile

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems.